You Can Still Be Free, Link
by Sarie Cigam
Summary: So, how does Link feel about his lot in life? This takes place between the Fire and Water temples in Ocarina of Time. R&R, please! PG-13 for language.


His life had become a living hell. How could seven years change so much? He cursed her name for giving him this nightmare, this pain. He couldn't hold back sometimes. Behind him was a trail of bones. In front, a path of death sentences. Why was he cursed with this destiny?  
On an impulse, he fired a flaming arrow into a passing Guay, smirking with satisfaction as it fell, like a bleeding comet, to the dusty ground. Beneath him, Epona nickered softly, and her velvet ears flickered curiously.   
"It's nothing, girl. Just a precaution."  
Epona snorted and turned her head slightly, staring at him with one big, brown eye. She can see straight through me, he thought. He couldn't suppress a laugh of amusement.  
"You're right, girl. Something is bothering me," He replied, patting her shoulder. "I don't know if you'll understand, but I might as well talk anyway."  
Epona replied to this with a fairly derisive snort and a stomp of her forehoof.   
"All right, all right," he laughed, scratching her behind the ears. "You understand more than I give you credit for."  
Link turned his face to the stars, watching then blink on one by one, and a deep, rending sadness came over him. He tried to suppress a sob of anguish, but it came out anyway as a choked cry, like the cry of a wounded animal. Epona slowed in response, her head down, silent. She let him cry, scream, shout, curse, until he was empty of his intense pain. All that remained now was a dull ache.  
"I'm sorry, girl," He said in a colorless monotone, "I just can't keep this to myself anymore. I'm going insane."  
She kept silent while he spoke, trotting onward at a steady speed, listening. What else could she do? What else would he need?  
"I'm losing my memories, Epona. My friends are dying left and right, like flies. I'm covered in blood. I can't move around outside the city without killing something. I wonder how this could have happened to me." Link considered talking to Navi, but the faerie was no good at counseling. She could possibly make him feel worse.  
"You see those stars? Everyone is going there now. First Saria, then Darunia. Who will die next? How long before I bathe in blood again? I almost pray Gannondorf would kill me now. I can't stand it anymore." He raised his gauntleted hand to his face, turning it over, inspecting his own hand. He noted the tiny bloodstains from the rivulets of blood that often ran down his sword blade. He noted the slash marks and nicks that he, himself, had sustained, and the burn marks from his encounters in the Fire Temple.  
"Did you know that the Sages have to die?" He said, so quietly Epona could barely hear him. "Do you understand death, Epona?"  
Epona shuddered, her skin rippling beneath the saddle. "I should have known you would. Yes, the Sages have to die. Ironic, isn't it, that I'm supposed to save them all? From what? Life? Somehow I feel like I'm causing all this..."  
***  
Cool Breeze and Autumn leaves,  
Slow motion daylight.  
A lone pair of watchful eyes,  
Oversee the living.  
Feel the presence all around,  
A tortured soul,  
A wound unhealing.  
No regrets or promises,  
The past is gone,  
But you can still be free,  
If time will set you free.  
***  
Suddenly, he pressed his heels to Epona's side, and she took off like a bullet towards the sunrise. He would curse her name, but he couldn't keep down his feelings. Would he kill those he knew as friends to save one he loved?  
He remembered Saria's last words to him, and they brought on a fresh burst of anger. "It was meant to be like this." They were meant to die. Who next? Who's blood would he spill next?  
If it was destiny, could he prevent it? If he stopped fighting, would they all die, and leave those pillars in the sacred realm empty? Gannondorf's darkness would spread, that much he knew. If he didn't fight, didn't save those destined to become sages, more lives would be lost.  
With a new determination, he crossed the shattered bridge to Hyrule castle, and stepped through the doorway.  
***  
Time now to spread your wings,  
To take to flight,  
The life endeavor.  
Aim for the burning sun,  
You're trapped inside,  
But you can still be free  
If time will set you free.  
But it's a long long way to go.  
***  
He padded softly into the Temple of Time and knelt upon the raised stone platform, placing one hand on the top triangle of the Triforce. His heart beat strongly within his chest, and somehow he knew things would be all right. He had been chosen. They had confidence in him. How could he possibly lose? He would slay the few evil creatures to save the lives of the innocent.   
"Zelda, can you hear me? I'm sorry for doubting you. I understand my fate now. If you can hear me, I ask you to pray for me. It's going to be hard. I feel trapped. I've got to fight my way out. Oh, Din, please, help me. I'm going insane. I know what I've got to do, but Din, it's so damn hard!" He cried, pounding one fist on the hard granite of the temple floor.  
The air in front of him seemed to shimmer then, and someone appeared. He knew her. That same perfect face, the hair he longed to run his fingers through, lips he wanted to kiss. She was perfection. He stood and approached her, not believing she was there. She was trapped. Hidden. How could she come to him? He reached out to touch her face, to tell himself he wasn't dreaming.  
He felt only air.  
"Link, I can only come to you as an illusion. Please believe me, I understand your pain. I did not know it would happen like this. Please, Link, for all of Hyrule, continue on your quest. We're praying for you."  
A cry escaped his throat. He wanted to hold her, wrap his arms around her, but she was as insubstantial as air. He couldn't breath. He turned and, howling like a wounded wolf, ran out the doorway into the dark streets. He ran past the broken shops, broken dreams, past the re-deads, caricatures of life, past the poe shop, the selling of souls, and threw himself into Epona's saddle. And she ran.  
***  
Keep moving way up high  
You see the light,  
It shines forever.  
Sail through the crimson skies  
The purest light  
The light that sets you free  
If time will set you free.  
  
Sail through the wind and rain tonight  
You're free to fly tonight  
And you can still be free  
If time will set you free.  
And going higher than the mountain tops  
And go high the wind don't stop   
And go high  
Free to fly tonight  
Free to fly tonight   
  
  



End file.
